Israel's Top Court Backs Loophole in Farming Law

By STEVEN ERLANGER

Published: October 25, 2007

CORRECTION APPENDED

The Israeli Supreme Court stepped into a religious dispute on Wednesday, ordering the chief rabbinate not to allow local rabbis to decide for themselves whether to authorize produce from Jewish land to be sold during this sabbatical year.

The case centered on a loophole in religious law used to allow Jewish-owned farms to grow and sell kosher produce every seventh year, when the Bible says that Jewish land in Israel should be left fallow. The Biblical injunction about the sabbatical, or ''shmita'' year, is taken literally by many ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel, who refuse to buy or consume produce unless it is grown by non-Jews on land not owned by Jews.

In the past, the chief rabbinate, which controls kosher regulations in Israel, accepted a compromise or loophole called ''heter mechira,'' or sale permit. The permit allows Jewish farmers and businesses to ''sell'' their land formally and temporarily to non-Jews during shmita years, enabling the land to be worked as usual.

But with the increased influence of ultra-Orthodox Jews on the chief rabbinate, this year the policy changed. The rabbinate authorized heter mechira, as in the past, but then said that local rabbinical councils could decide for themselves whether to accept it.

In cities like Jerusalem, where the ultra-Orthodox make up almost a third of the total population, and a much larger proportion of the Jewish population, heter mechira was not allowed, and prices for produce were rising while Jewish agribusiness was suffering.

Tzohar, a group of Zionist Orthodox rabbis, had challenged the ruling and said that its members would authorize heter mechira produce in cities where the local rabbis would not, an obvious threat to the authority of the chief rabbinate.

In its ruling on Wednesday, the court said the chief rabbinate would not be allowed to provide local autonomy to rabbis because such a practice could cause significant harm to Israel's farmers and the public at large.

Reaction was along religious more than party lines, with modern Orthodox groups favoring the decision. Rabbi Michael Melchior, a legislator and modern Orthodox rabbi, told the newspaper Haaretz that the court ruling thwarted ''haredi coercion.'' Haredi is a Hebrew word for ultra-Orthodox Jews.

Shalom Simhon, the agriculture minister, called the ruling ''a victory for sanity.''

Zevulun Orlev, leader of the National Religious Party, praised the ruling and said the rabbinate ''had surrendered to the methods of the ultra-Orthodox and sinned against its government and the soil beneath its feet.''

The chief rabbinate had no immediate comment, but ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel are expected to continue to shun produce that is not approved by their rabbis.

On Tuesday, Daniel Friedmann, the justice minister, said he would oppose the adoption of an Israeli constitution that prohibited the Supreme Court from ruling on conflicts between the state and religion. Israel has no constitution and has been debating whether to adopt one.

On Wednesday, an Israeli soldier, 20, was seriously wounded and an Israeli civilian lightly wounded in a drive-by shooting as they waited at a hitchhiking and bus stop near Ariel, a large Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank. Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility. The group is affiliated with the Fatah movement of the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.

After an increase in rocket and mortar fire toward Israel from Gaza in recent days, the Defense Ministry told Israeli reporters that it was recommending punitive cuts in electricity to Gaza. Israel supplies about two-thirds of Gaza's electricity, but says it will not cut electricity to hospitals.

Wednesday was the 12th anniversary of the assassination of the Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin based on the Jewish calendar. Mr. Rabin was killed on Nov. 4, 1995, by an Israeli opposed to his efforts to make peace with the Palestinians by dividing the land. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Shimon Peres attended a ceremony at Mr. Rabin's grave in Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem.

Mr. Peres, who was standing beside Mr. Rabin when he was shot, said his killer had failed. ''The vast majority of Israelis today support more than ever Rabin's path,'' Mr. Peres said.

On Wednesday evening, Israeli forces fired on Palestinians in northern Gaza who had launched rockets into Israel, the Israeli Army said, according to Reuters. Palestinians in Gaza said two boys, ages 12 and 13, were killed. In Washington, the State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack, said that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice planned to visit Jerusalem and Ramallah, in the West Bank, Nov. 4 to Nov. 6 to continue her discussions with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Correction: October 29, 2007, Monday
An article on Thursday about an Israeli Supreme Court ruling in a religious dispute and other developments, including remarks by President Shimon Peres of Israel at a ceremony on the 12th anniversary of the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin, described imprecisely one of Mr. Peres's recollections of the day of the assassination. Although Mr. Peres spoke of standing next to Mr. Rabin at a rally on the day the prime minister was killed, Mr. Peres was not standing next to Mr. Rabin when he was shot.